Martin Lewis issues warning over cheapest time to use a tumble dryer | Personal Finance | Finance
Money expert Martin Lewis has issued a warning to everyone with a tumble dryer who is trying to save money by using it overnight.
Martin kicked off the latest episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV1 on Tuesday night with a special overview of the latest on energy bills following the news that prices will rise again this January.
Generally, Martin urged viewers to switch away from the ‘pants cap’ price cap and onto a fixed energy deal, many of which are significantly cheaper than the Ofgem price cap.
During the episode, he was asked by a viewer if they should fix their tariff when they currently have a cheap EV charging at night rate.
Martin explained that EV charging tariffs are not just for charging EVs, but in fact can be used to save money by shifting all sorts of other possible electricity use to overnight, where the rate is much lower. These EV tariffs work in a very similar way to the existing Economy 7 tariffs, which offer a different rate at night (intended to charge night storage heaters) and other general time-of-use tariffs which offer lower rates at times of lower demand.
He urged customers on such tariffs to look at what other usage they can shift to the cheap rate overnight – but never a tumble dryer.
Martin said: “The Octopus and most of the two-tier EV tariffs: they basically, you pay the price cap for electricity during the day, and then you get a super cheap rate, say 9p per kWh at night, so really, the question is, how much of your energy do you use in that cheap period between midnight and 5am when you get super cheap rates?
“Not just your car, have you shifted other uses there?
“Shift as much as you can – not your tumble dryer. Fire risk if you put a tumble dryer on overnight while you’re sleeping.”
This is backed up by London Fire Brigade, which warns as part of its fire safety advice: “Don’t leave the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher on overnight and unattended.”
Martin continued that if you can shift more than a quarter of your total electricity use to the cheap rates, then it’s worth taking out an EV tariff.
He added: “If that’s over 25% of your usage that’s in the very cheap period, you’re probably better on an EV tariff, if it’s not, you’re probably better just going for the cheapest fix.
“It’s a very rough rule of thumb but hopefully that helps and makes sense.”
